A power outage at the Island Park Hydroelectric Project around 11:00 AM today caused flows to more than double, from 900 cfs to over 2000 cfs, in the Box Canyon.

Flows from the dam are usually regulated by the Island Park Hydroelectric Project. During the power outage, control of outflow is transferred to the Bureau of Reclamation gates (pictured above at about 1:00 PM). During the routine transfer, a calcified cable for one of the lower release gates failed. As a result, flows continued increasing from the BOR gates.

A gage station below the dam measured flow at 904 cfs. By 11:45, flows were recorded at 2010 cfs, according to the Bureau of Reclamation Hydromet site. The latest available flow reading available was 2050 cfs at 12:15.

Workers from Northwest Power Services manually adjusted the outflows from the BOR gate after discovering the problem. The Henry's Fork Foundation hasn't heard any reports of injuries from the increased outflows.

Opening Day Images Map

View Larger Map


Click "View Large Map" to see the full map.

What's Happening - Opening week on The Ranch

This is the first installment of What's Happening...on the river. Look for updates about the Railroad Ranch and the Caldera Project throughout the season. With a break in the winter-like weather on Saturday, just a day before the opener, the season seems to be off to a slow start. While anglers aren't seeming to agree on too much with respect to the survey - it's too soon to start drawing out patterns, let alone conclusions from the sort of experience folks are having on the water - a nearly unanimous sentiment exists that it just seems "early." We've had reports of PMDs, March Browns, caddis and yellow sallies among other insects, but no prolific hatches as of yet.

Since Sunday the weather has held warm, sunny and breezy in the afternoons, while most of the crowd has cleared out from Harriman State Park. The fishing does seem to be improving, if slowly, and we're hoping to see more bugs and rising fish in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned here for weekly updates on the project, photos, interviews and other reports from the river as the season progresses. Make sure to talk with me or one of the interns doing the angler survey if you're out on the river.